


Supersonic

by summer_mclaughlin



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: F/M, M/M, rhink
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-19
Packaged: 2019-01-10 20:25:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12307089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/summer_mclaughlin/pseuds/summer_mclaughlin
Summary: Rhett and Jessie, Link and Christy. Standing next to each other, huddled together behind that frame, clicking away being in love. Two attractive couples in their early 30s - The picture was almost too perfect. But what happens when one of these couples breaks up, and the other is still going strong?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm a newbie writer, so bear with me, and lemme know if you like this :)

"Alright, Link, lean your heels on mine." said Rhett, laughing.

"But we're back to back!" said Link.

"Yeah, so then you'll be a little higher, won't you? It'll be like you're wearing heels."

"Okay, let's try that."

It wasn't usual for them to be told that their height difference was jarring for a photo. They sort of always blended together nicely. Like one unit, perfectly fitting into the empty spaces surrounding each other's bodies.

Link raised his heels and rested them upon Rhett's, elevating himself about three inches off the floor. They looked at the camera and as soon as the photographer clicked, Link lost his balance and his body fell back into Rhetts, their behinds colliding. Rhett immediately held Link from the sides and giggled.

"You klutz!" he said, smiling at Link.

They spent the next two hours posing for more pictures, and giving little snippets of interviews for their new show. Rhett noticed the interviewer flirting with them quite a bit, and Rhett was sure that Link being his flirty self was leading her on. He shook his head at his friend. By now, he was quite used to steering the conversation away from dangerous waters.

As they were walking out the building later, Rhett said, “You know you shouldn’t be flirting so much.” Link looked at him. “I mean, I don’t care, I’m just saying.” he added with a shrug.

“Jealous, are ya!?” winked Link.

Rhett rolled his eyes. “That interviewer was totally expecting to have an encounter with you in the dressing room after the way you acted.”

“Oh shut up.” Link replied.

“I’m telling you!” Rhett said loudly. “May I remind you that you got a girlfriend?”

“Ha!” Link smirked. Suddenly Rhett noticed his expression change. “Oh shit. SHIT! Christy is gonna kill me. She told me to meet her at six. She said it was important.” Link said, with his car keys in his hand.

Rhett felt a sudden “Come on man. You were at work!”

“But she said it was important!” he said, hurrying towards his car.

Rhett knew better than to argue. He knew Christy. He knew how she would react. And he really didn’t want to create any more trouble for his best friend. So he nodded, and walked towards his car.

“Jessie and I are making _Rigatoni Salsa Peperonata_ tonight. In case you break up with her, and wanna hang out.” Rhett called out and winked at him.

Link rolled his eyes at him, and said, “I know you don’t like her, Rhett. But don’t bitch about my girlfriend. I don’t bitch about yours.” and shrugged at him.

“Well, considering the fact that you were friends with Jessie before I was, and you were the one who introduced us, and practically match made us, it would be quite ironic if you bitched about her.” said Rhett.

“I’ll see you.” Link left in a hurry.

Ten minutes later, Rhett reached his apartment building and parked his car. As he took out his keys to open the door, there was a loud squeal and the door banged open. He saw a smiling Jessie jump up and grab his neck to kiss him. He smiled back at her, and kissed her. He carried her to the living room couch in his arms. She was a little ball of sunshine, always so excited to see him. He sat down, with her on his lap, quietly playing with his hair as she told him about her day. Soon, Jessie’s phone rang.

“It’s Link.” he said to Jessie.

“Oh!” Rhett’s mind raced. Why had Link called _Jessie_!?

“Oh goodness, Link!” he heard Jessie say. “Where’s your phone?” she quickly whispered to Rhett. “Oh he’s here, I don’t know. Oh my god, you did what!?... How did she react?... Oh no!... Listen, come over… Yeah, you can stay in the guest room. I don’t think you should be alone right now… Yeah… don’t worry about it… YES it’s okay! Just come here.” Rhett heard her say over the phone.

“He broke up with Christy.” she said to Rhett.

Twenty minutes later, a black SUV pulled in, announcing Link’s arrival. As soon as he entered the living room, Jessie hugged him tightly.

“Oh honey. Are you okay?” she said.

“No, I’m not okay.” said Link, visibly hurting, his eyes looking around for his best friend. He saw Rhett walk towards him from the next room. Looking at Rhett’s unbuttoned top buttons, his tousled bushy blonde hair, and Jessie’s smeared lipstick, he could guess what he’d walked into. For some reason, it annoyed him. He tried to shrug off that feeling and sat down on the couch with them.

Jessie held on to Link’s hand, leaned over and said, “Tell us everything.” with a worried tone.

Link kept looking at Rhett, trying to read his expression. As thankful as he was for Jessie and her concern, he kinda wished it was just Rhett with him. But he gave in and told them everything.

“I don’t know what got over me guys. I know you two’ve been telling me for a long time that I needed to do this. But I never thought I would. And then I reached home, and before I could even put my keys down, she just… she started screaming man!” he looked at Rhett, who pursed his lips and nodded in concern. “That’s when I realised… It’s like a light came on. I don’t need this in my life! I don’t need this nonsense. Why am I letting her do this!? And without even thinking, the words just came out. I told her I’d had enough and that I needed a break. I told her I wanna break up.”

Rhett and Jessie waited for him to complete, with her still holding Link’s hand. When he didn’t say more, Jessie asked, “And then?”

Link finally moved his eyes from Rhett to Jessie and said, “Then she threw the remote at me. It hit me and then broke. She told me never to show her my stupid face. And then she left for her place. That’s when I called you.”

There was silence. Rhett nodded. “Good for you man.” he said. Jessie and Link both stared at him. “I mean… I mean you’re gonna be better now. Trust me.” and he patted Link lightly on his shoulder.

“I don’t know. I sort of feel like… I miss her. Maybe I made a mistake. The biggest mistake of my life.” cried Link.

“No, you didn’t! Don’t be stupid. You’ll be fine. You’ll be better!” replied Rhett.

They sat there for a while, consoling and comforting Link. Jessie let out a wide yawn. “I think I’m going to go to bed now.” Suddenly Link’s insides lit up. He was finally gonna have some alone time with Rhett. Jessie stood up and stretched her arms. She stood there for a second, before she said, “Rhett?”

Rhett looked up at her and said, “Oh yeah. Sorry.” he stood up and followed Jessie.

“Link, the guest room has everything you need. If you wake up during the night, just help yourself out of the fridge. Lemme know if you need anything. You’ll be alright bud.” she said kindly. Link really did love her. She was caring and wonderful and had the biggest heart of anyone he’d ever met. But right now, he couldn’t help but hate her for taking away his best friend when he needed him.

He saw them walk towards their bedroom. In the last fleeting moments of eye contact, he could swear he saw a hint of apology in Rhett’s eyes. And with that last subtle movement of his eyelid, he knew that Rhett would come back for him. Maybe an hour later, maybe two hours later, but he would come. And with that thought, Link found himself smiling into their closing door. He picked up his bag and made his way into the guest room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link is falling... into trouble. And Rhett has no idea.

Link went into the guest room, and looked at the bed. The only times he’d slept on this bed were with Christy. He remembered a particularly long game night the four of them had had, the night ending in Link and Christy losing every round, and angrily bickering at each other. And then coming back to this bed and having angry violent sex. He cursed himself for thinking about that. 

He pulled off his T shirt, and got inside the covers, still wearing his jeans. He knew for sure that Rhett would come find him and comfort him. That is what got him through the next couple of hours, hearing out for any little noise, any little stir announcing Rhett’s arrival into his room. 

At about 1 am, he heard noises from the kitchen. He jumped off his bed, and ran out his room. He saw the tall man, taking a bite out of a rather large slice of pineapple, with the door of the fridge open, illuminated only by the dim internal light of the fridge, and dressed only in his boxers. The whole visual was a little ridiculous and made Link snigger. 

“What’re you laughing at?” whispered Rhett with his mouth full. “You want some?” he held it out towards Link.

“No thanks.” Link replied, quite loud. 

“Shhhhh!! She’s asleep.” Rhett whispered, pointing at the closed bedroom door. “I was gonna come see you.”

“In those?” Link smirked, pointing at Rhett’s boxers.

“Why, too much for you to handle?” Rhett played along. 

Link tried to think of a comeback, but just ended up fumbling with incoherent words.. 

“I’ll put on a robe and meet you in your room in a sec.” Rhett said.

Two minutes later, he was sitting in a chair, next to the bed where Link sat cross legged. The room was dimly lit by a beautiful lamp Jessie had bought for their home. 

“Sorry man. I wanted to come in earlier, but she just wouldn’t go to sleep.” said Rhett, apologetically. “Let’s talk it out.” 

They talked for hours. Just like the best friends they were. What started as talking about Christy, and what had happened, turned into what they wanted from life, to reminiscing about old times, laughing about past girlfriends and crushes, upcoming projects and literally anything and everything under the sun. In fact, by the time they were done, it was 4 am, and Rhett yawned wide and loud. 

“I think we should get some sleep before work. You gonna be alright?” said Rhett, standing up. His robe had long ago given up on staying on his shoulders, and had slipped down, exposing his huge chest. 

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” said Link, getting more comfortable under the covers. 

“Take off your jeans, Link. Be comfy.”

“Thanks for the golden advice.” he replied, sarcastically. Rhett giggled, and waved him a goodbye.

Walking towards their room, he realised how tired he was. Without even turning on the light, he pulled off his robe and landed on the bed, with his back to Jessie. He felt an arm creep up around his waist, and then a light kiss on his shoulder.

“You’re a good friend, Rhett.” she mumbled. He smiled.

He turned around, and kissed her forehead. “I love you.” he said, smelling her hair, and they fell asleep.  

In the other room, Link had also finally given into slumber, and dreams as usual.

_ They were 14. The sun was shining bright, burning into their skin as they jumped into the heavenly water of the Cape Fear river. “Are you taking Amber to the dance?” Rhett asked. “I don’t know if I want to go with her, Rhett.” he replied. “But she’s your girlfriend. Who else will you go with?” _

The dream changed.

_ They were sitting in their office, with Stevie. “But we can’t eat HUMANS Stevie!” said Link, exasperated. “Come on Link! It’s for Science. Plus, think of the views!!” she said winking at him. He looked at Rhett in disbelief, who shrugged and said, “Well, she does have a point, you know? Why not. Let’s do it!” Link screamed, “WHAT!?” looking from one to the other, and saw them grinning and nodding at each other. _

The dream changed once more. 

_ He had his fingers intertwined in blonde hair. And his lips planted on a bare, freckled shoulder. He inhaled, and trailed his tongue across, and up towards the ear. “I need you.” he whispered into the ear, and pulled away. And he saw a pair of huge grey-green eyes staring at him. Soft words were being spoken to him, in the distinct voice he knew only too well. “I love you Link.” he heard.  _

He opened his eyes.

In the other room, Rhett heard his name, and was jerked out of sleep.

“Rhett?” said Jessie, leaning into him. She was dressed in a formal pencil skirt and white blouse, ready for work. “Babe, I’m running late.” she said, putting on her heels. “Please take out the trash when you get up. Also, I think the gas is leaking. Could you do a quick check on that? I’ve left some coffee for you guys.”

Rhett slowly pushed himself up on his elbows. “What time is it?” he asked groggily.

“It’s eight. Listen.” Jessie put things down and sat on the bed next to him. “I think it’ll be a good idea for you guys to cancel work today. Just spend some time at home. Take care of him. Give him some cereal, get him to take a shower and just be normal. You can go to work tomorrow.”

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Rhett said to her, with a little kiss on her lips. 

“Yes, I know that.” she winked. “Now I gotta go. You boys better be good. Love you.” and she dashed away. 

Rhett smiled as he looked at her walk out the door, his eyes inadvertently checking her out, like he was used to. “Goodbye sexy girl! I’ll miss you.” 

She winked at him as she left. 

Rhett enjoyed another half an hour of sleep before checking in on Link. He entered Link’s room, and saw him sprawled across the bed, on his stomach, covers almost gone. He noticed that Link had taken Rhett’s advice on getting rid of his jeans, and chuckled at his perky butt protruding out through tiny briefs. He quickly averted his gaze and let Link get some more sleep. He then texted Stevie, explaining that shooting schedules for the day would be cancelled, and they would be available on the phone and email. Everything else at the office would continue as usual. Stevie knew better than to ask intrusive questions and told him not to worry. Rhett left a note by Link’s side, which said, “Staying home today. Told Stevie. Don’t worry.”

Soon after, Rhett went in for a quick shower. He got out of the shower, as usual without any clothes on, with the towel on his shoulders. He picked up his phone to check for messages. As he was fiddling with his phone, Link entered his room.

“Oh gosh, why are you naked!?” said Link, feeling a jolt in the pit of his stomach. 

“Cuz I just took a shower!” said Rhett, casually wrapping the towel around his waist. 

“Okay… umm… what is the…” stuttered Link.

“What’s the matter with you?” 

“It’s just… Why are you naked!?” he was angry now, maybe at himself, for not being able to think.

“What!? Nothing you haven’t seen before! Why are you so mad?”

“Your THING was not the first thing I wanted to see this morning.” replied Link, louder than intended.

“YOU came into MY room! Jeez Link, I know you’re hurting, but just calm down!”

Link stormed out of the room, into the kitchen and poured himself some coffee. He couldn’t understand why he was so angry again. He couldn’t understand why he couldn’t get that picture of Rhett with the towel on his shoulders off of his mind. He couldn’t understand that jolt he felt in his stomach. The one he felt back when he used to touch Christy.  _ No. It’s not like THAT.  _ He told himself.

Rhett came out and poured him a coffee. “Here. Calm down.”

“You’re giving me a coffee to calm me down? Very smart.” Link sniggered. Rhett didn’t seem amused. “Okay, I’m sorry for screaming at you. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“It’s alright.” 

“Thanks for cancelling the shoot today. I can’t be in front of the camera. But I do need to work.” Link told Rhett, as they were on the couch, flipping the channels to land on something to watch.

“You wanna work on the script?” asked Rhett. Link’s face lit up.

They sat there, on the couch, working on the script of their next project. As much as Link wanted to work, he just couldn’t. Neither could he point his finger at why he was so miserable. Of course, he had just broken up with his girlfriend, but as he thought about it more and more, he didn’t really miss her. In fact, he was quite relieved that he wasn’t expected to call her and be a boyfriend right now.

They sat on the couch, intermittently working and watching TV. Before they knew it, it was the afternoon and Rhett had settled more and more into the couch, almost leaning into Link’s body. Soon, he felt Rhett's head drop on to his shoulder, but he didn’t move. Slowly, he saw Rhett close his eyes and drift off to sleep.

Link’s heart was racing. It wasn’t usual for Rhett to fall asleep on his shoulder. It was usually the other way round. He felt Rhett’s scruffy hair on his cheek. He turned his head towards him and smelled the beautiful smell of Rhett’s shampoo, just when Rhett moved and nuzzled his nose further into Link’s shoulder. For some reason, the physical contact made Link feel happy and secure. He tilted his head, and rested it on top of Rhett’s, moving his body closer to his as well. After a minute or so, he felt Rhett’s hand encircle his waist, and rest on his hip. He knew Rhett was asleep, but for a second Link was motionless. Inside and out. He didn’t know what to do. He tried to remain stiff, and maintain a chaste distance between their bodies, which only lasted about ten seconds before he gave in and settled completely in Rhett’s arms. Being embraced by Rhett, with him asleep on his shoulder, Link drifted off to the most wonderful sleep he’d ever felt.

They both woke up to the sound of Jessie talking.

“Isn’t that the most adorable thing you’ve ever seen?” she said.

“What!?” said Rhett, and jerked out of Link’s space. “Hey! You’re home early.” Rhett stood up and kissed Jessie.

“I am! And I find you in someone else’s arms!” she said, smiling at Link. She narrowed her eyes at Link, jokingly.

“How’re you doing, buddy?” she said, in an almost patronizing tone.

“Nobody’s died, Jessie. I’m fine. I’ll be fine.” said Link, as he felt himself getting angry again. He saw Rhett and Jessie sit down on the one chair in front of him, Jessie in his lap, as he played with her back.

“I know Link. I’m sorry. I’m just concerned. I hope you had a good day.” she said, very sweetly.

“Yeah. I guess we should’ve just gone to work. It would’ve been a more productive day.” He could see Rhett’s hand now move to her hair. He was brushing them with his long fingers.

“I was just telling him he needs some really good old fashioned mindless sex.” said Rhett.

“OH MY GOD YES! Remember my friend Jen? She’s still got the hots for you. And I know she doesn’t want a relationship. She’d be MORE than happy to sleep with you, Link.” said Jessie.

“I’m not sleeping with some random girl, Jessie.” said Link, boiling with anger. Rhett’s hand was on her thigh now, and Link was staring at it.

“Stop staring at my girlfriend’s legs, man!” said Rhett, laughing. Jessie laughed too.

“I’m not... I mean… Sorry.” And didn’t say anything else, and quietly walked back to his room.

“As you can see, he’s still not okay.” Rhett told Jessie.  

Back in his room, Link closed the door behind him, and kicked his bag. He sat on the bed, with his face in his hands. What had gotten into him!? He’d been through break ups, but had never been at the edge of his emotions like this before.  _ What the HECK was that dream!?  _ He knew what it was, but it was hard for him to comprehend why he would dream something like that. Also, dreaming was one thing. How about all that had been going on in his head while he was awake!? How about that picture of the white towel on those shoulders, with beads of water clinging to the pale skin, that he couldn’t get out of his head?

He needed to refresh his mind. That was it! Nothing to be concerned about. And he knew just the way to do it. He made sure his door was locked, before taking off his clothes and getting into bed. He didn’t want to be caught doing what he was about to do. Slowly, he started touching himself from outside his boxers.

He started thinking about Christy. He stroked himself. He thought about her lips… her neck… her boobs… and stroked more. This was going well… until, he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t just think of Christy like this. It was only going to make things worse for him, to get over her. He sighed in frustration, still stroking his hard self.

For a minute, he let his mind wander. Wander into forbidden territories. He thought of that majestic golden hair, all wet and scruffy. He thought of those bulging eyes. He thought of those delicious cherry cheeks. He thought of that towel on the shoulders. Those pink lips… those muscular arms… that sleek waist… those long legs… His hand moving faster now, finally picking the rhythm it was used to. 

“Oh fuck it.” he muttered through closed eyes, giving in completely. He thought about the beard, the thin glaze of chest hair on that huge muscular chest. He visualized holding those big shoulders, nimbly in his fingers. He moaned, stroking himself harder and faster each time. He thought about the thin trail of hair on the tummy, turning into thicker as it went down. He thought of those thighs. 

“Ah!” he went, before releasing his load. He was breathing loudly as he tried to regain his breath and calm down. He cleaned himself with a tissue before going to the bathroom to wash up. He re-settled into his bed, now much more comfortable than before. He snuggled under the covers, and slept off with a smile on his face.

  
_ Boy am I in trouble!  _ He thought, still blissfully smiling to himself. He would deal with it tomorrow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this! Leave a comment, it helps :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “But we’re not… gay. Right? We’re not.” Rhett said.
> 
> “Rhett. These labels are pointless.”

The guys started going back to work in the next couple of days. Falling back into their regular schedule was immensely helpful for Link to move on from Christy, but he was finding it hard to move on from that new tinge of lust that he’d felt the other day. He found himself stealing sideways glances at Rhett whenever he could. He started noticing the details in his face that he already knew by heart. He paid attention to how his moustache covered his top lip. How one of his eyes was visibly larger than the other. He spent more time thinking about his long hands, and the legs that stretched beyond imagination. He had no idea what was going on with him, but he was done trying to analyse any of it. Link knew he should move back to his place, but still continued staying with Rhett and Jessie. Feeding into his guilty pleasure of daydreaming about his best friend.

The weekend came soon, and Jessie had to go away for a conference on Friday afternoon, only to be back on Monday.

“We should go out. Let’s go to a bar, and get you picked up.” said Rhett. 

Link looked at him. “Nah… I just wanna go home.”

“ _Home_?”

“I mean your home.” said Link.

“Ah, glad you’ve started seeing my home as yours Link. You’re like our adopted son!” giggled Rhett. Link didn’t respond. “Okay. We’ll order some pizzas and have some beer. We can check a movie on Netflix.”

“Yeah! Netflix and chill all the way, baby!” said Link. Rhett knew Link too well to know that half of the time he didn’t realise what he was saying, and laughed.

The night was happier than Link had felt all week. This was the first time that he got to spend an evening with Rhett alone, since the break up. The two boys snuggled up on the couch to watch a horror movie, which made Link scream like a little child, as they enjoyed pizza and a few too many beers. Link was so scared and drunk, that he slipped down the couch, on the floor, with his back against the couch. Rhett laughed and joined him there. Rhett always said he never got drunk, but Link knew him better. Within the first half an hour, they were huddled up against each other, trying to hide from the scary TV screen. Rhett put his arm around Link on the couch, almost encircling him in his body.

“Why are we watching this!” said Rhett, with a grimace. Link turned his face towards him and their noses touched. He hadn’t realised how close they were actually seated. Link’s heart skipped a beat. Rhett smelled exactly the way he had imagined. Of course this wasn’t the first time he was smelling Rhett, but over the past few days, he’d thought about being this close to him more often than he would admit.

Link stopped smiling and looked at Rhett’s lips, and then his eyes. There was a moment where the two men were just staring at each other’s drunken eyes, with muffled thoughts, trying to decide what to say. Link could almost feel Rhett’s beard on his own chin. _This is it. I’m the perfect amount of drunk to do this._ He leaned in and touched his lips to Rhett’s. It was an elongated moment of stillness. Link didn’t know what to do. He was sure Rhett was gonna flinch and pull back. He was sure he’d done permanent damage. And his worst thoughts did come true. Rhett pulled away, shocked. Wide eyed, he looked at Link. Link could swear he saw anger and disgust in Rhett’s eyes. His heart started beating faster than ever, and he felt the urge to run away and disappear into the abyss.

And then, he heard Rhett say his name. “Link…” The way he said it, Link knew he wasn’t angry, just caught off guard.

“Yeah, Rhett…” he said, nervously.

Rhett stared at his face for a second. Those slanty eyebrows, those deep blue eyes. The cherry lips. And then, he leaned over Link. He hovered his lips over Link’s for a few seconds, considering this act. Breathing Link’s breath, touching his stubble with his cheek. He tested the waters more, gathering his thoughts and what he was about to jump into, but soon gave up into making sense of any of it. He had no idea why he did that, but he pressed a kiss on Link’s lips. Then he pressed another. And another. His hand that was behind Link slid down to his back, and then back up, till it reached the back of Link’s neck. This time, Rhett pressed his face into Link’s, and kissed him like he kissed Jessie. With his head tilted, and his mouth open. His glasses now poking him in the eye.

With one smooth motion, Rhett reached up and took off Link’s glasses and gently kept them on the table. Then, he almost pinned Link to the back of the couch, and kissed him deeply and passionately. Link felt Rhett’s tongue rubbing against his own. He couldn’t believe what was happening. This kiss was everything he had imagined, and more. They broke apart just for a second before again locking lips. Then Link kissed the corner of Rhett’s mouth. Then his beard. Then his chin. Link kissed his ear, and then below his ear. He quickly licked him, and Rhett laughed. He pulled Link back up and kissed him some more. Within a minute, they were both breathless and breathing into each other’s necks, holding each other tightly.

Link looked up at Rhett. He was relieved to see he was smiling. A drunk smile though. 

“Oh gosh.” said Rhett, and started laughing. Link laughed too.

“I know!” he replied. 

“What the HECK was that!” said Rhett.

“I don’t know!”

“Let’s just go to bed.” said Rhett, as he stood up, barely able to balance himself on his feet.

Link was left wondering to himself what Rhett meant. _Go to the same bed?_  

“Umm… Your blanket is in the closet in your room. I put it in there earlier.” Rhett said.

Link understood. _Okay, I guess that means we’re sleeping in different rooms._ He walked towards his room, and looked back at Rhett, walking towards his. There was a brief moment of eye contact, and a tiny naughty smile by Rhett, before they shut their doors. Link leaned back on the shut door, with his eyes closed and face towards the ceiling. 

 _What was I thinking! Of course I can’t share the bed he shares with Jessie._ He drunkenly smacked himself on the forehead. With that, he fell on the bed, fully clothed and immediately fell asleep.

In the other room, Rhett’s head was spinning. He didn’t have the energy to process what had happened. He figured he’d think about it in the morning, and he too, fell asleep, fully clothed. Which was a first for him.

  


The next morning, both men woke up at around the same time, but avoided getting out of bed. They tumbled in their own beds for a few hours before Rhett got out and took a shower. As he was making his coffee, he saw a groggy Link walk out his room, still in the clothes he was wearing the previous night.

“Happy Saturday, tiger!” said Rhett.

 “You’re dressed already?” asked Link.

 “Yeah… here. Have some coffee.” He offered some to Link, who sat down on the high bar stool in the kitchen. “So, d’you sleep well?”

 “Yeah, I did.” Link replied, looking at Rhett. He couldn’t help but smile looking at Rhett’s gorgeous hair and scruffy beard. “How about you?” He could see that Rhett couldn’t help but giggle either.

 “Oh, really good!” he said, raising his eyebrows and shrugging his shoulders, as he settled in the chair next to Link.

 “So…” muttered Link, nodding his head.

 “Yup. So.” replied Rhett. 

“What happened last night…”

“I don’t know how it happened man. Were we really THAT drunk?”

Link shrugged. “I don’t know man. You know… ” And he shrugged again. He was scared to say anything before hearing what Rhett had to say about it.  

Rhett went visibly scarlet. “Well, Link. So is… I dunno. It was fun I think? I don’t really remember it too well.” he said, blushing the hardest Link had ever seen him blush.

This made Link laugh. Rhett seemed even more adorable in the morning. 

“Yeah man. It was fun!” Link said confidently.

Rhett laughed. “Yeah. But…” Link’s heart sank at the word “but”.

“But what?”

“But we’re not… gay. Right? We’re not.” he said.

“Rhett. These labels are pointless.”

“I’m not talking about labels! I’m talking about what we like, Link. I have a girlfriend. You JUST had a girlfriend. We’re both into girls.”

“Of course we are. But this has got nothing to do with that. I had fun kissing you, and you had fun kissing me!” It was hard for Link to admit that, but he did.

“But you also love boobs! Remember?” said Rhett, exasperated.

“Yes I know Rhett. I know I love boobs. But that doesn’t mean I can’t like other things. Stop putting yourself in a box, and definitely stop putting me in a box.” Link was getting angry again. He pushed himself off the kitchen stool, and walked off into the living room. 

Rhett chased after him. “Link! I’m sorry.” he said. “It’s confusing for me. Why now! Why like this? And why the heck did I like it!?” Rhett was getting worked up too.

“Rhett, it’s okay to like things.” Link said calmly.

Rhett advanced towards him, and towered over him, lightly holding his arms. He was much too close to Link.

“I gotta take a shower.” said Link. Rhett laughed.

“And then what?” asked Rhett.

“And then... “ said Link, as he ran a soft finger against Rhett’s neck, almost tickling him. “Whatever you say, big guy.”

“Link I have a girlfriend.” said Rhett, averting Link’s eyes.

“I know you do Rhett. I KNOW. Her name is Jessie. Jessie Lane. She was my friend first. I know about her. I got you two together. You don’t have to keep telling me you have a girlfriend okay?” he snapped. “Listen. This weekend is what we have for now. After this weekend, we have to figure out what’s going on, and get into reality. Till then, you’re either in, or you’re out. Whatever it is, just let me know so I know whether to stay or go back to my apartment. Don’t play games with me.” he looked at Rhett, who didn’t reply.

“So which one is it?” he asked again.

Rhett looked up, directly into the baby blue eyes that were too familiar. Eyes he would seek out whenever he needed anything at all. And he said, “I’m in.”

Link broke into a smile. “Good.” he said, and skipped across, to take a shower.

“Oh and by the way…” added Rhett. “You don’t stink.”

Link winked at him as he left the room.

Rhett fumbled with the spoons as Link left the room. _What am I doing!_ His heart was racing. What did Link mean by “Are you in or out”? And what had Rhett committed to by saying he was “in”? Were they gonna kiss more? Were they going to have sex? Were they going to start dating? Was he going to cheat on Jessie? But he loved Jessie! He couldn’t just break up with her over a _guy!_ Well, it’s not any guy. It’s Link! He thought to himself. He also knew that Link had no idea what he himself had meant by _in or out_. He could tell that Link himself didn’t know what he’d meant.

After a jittery ten minutes, Rhett decided he needed to talk to Link about this, before they jumped into anything, and how far they were willing to take this. He dashed towards Link’s room, and heard the shower being turned off. He stood behind the bathroom door, waiting for it to open, ready to talk to him, butterflies going crazy in his stomach. His heart was beating the fastest when he heard the bathroom door click open.

“Link we should…” _talk_ was what Rhett was about to say, before he had a look at Link.

Rhett was slapped by the image of wet hair, blue eyes, no glasses, steamy red shoulders, and a pristine white towel around that tiny waist.

“We should?” said Link, glancing up at the tall guy, with a half smile.

 _The cheeky flirt!_ Rhett thought to himself.

“Yeah…” he said, and advanced towards Link, forgetting about his plans to talk first. He reached for his waist, and grabbed it, ever so lightly. He pulled Link towards himself, and felt a moment of breathlessness looking into the deep blue of his eyes, before he bent in to kiss him. He tried pushing Link back against the wall, but in a matter of seconds, there was a shift in power. Link grabbed his wrists, and pushed him against the door. Link was done being careful and hesitant. He wanted control. His hands snaked up Rhett’s shirt, grazing his chest while he was kissing his neck. Rhett was careful with Link, because he knew the towel was dangerously close to falling off of his body, and he didn’t want to rush it. He could feel Link poking out from beneath his towel though, and he felt a sudden rush of hunger. He grabbed Link’s godly shoulders, and pressed kisses on them. Link worked his fingers to unbutton Rhett’s shirt and pull it off his chest. His lips brushed against Rhett’s thin chest hair, as he bent his knees a little to reach his belly.  

“Oh Link… what’re you doing?” asked Rhett as he felt Link’s lips move further down his body.

“What does it look like I’m doing, big boy?” Link whispered, against Rhett’s belly button. He kissed it, and his hands reached the back of Rhett’s jeans, cupping his ass. Rhett’s brain had stopped working. Never in a million years could he have imagined Link doing this. His fingers found Link’s hair, and he pulled them. Link retaliated with that sudden force with biting into his hipbone, and growling. Rhett opened his eyes and looked down and the beautiful brunette, now unzipping his jeans. Link rubbed his face on Rhett’s bulge, which made Rhett close his eyes and lean his head back on the wall.

Slowly, Link reached inside the boxers and held Rhett’s cock in his hand.

“Boy, I know I have a big mouth but… darn this looks too ambitious, even for me.” Said Link, pulling it out.

“Oh Link what... gosh....” Rhett was unable to form any coherent sentences. He was too caught up in this unexpected moment to make sense.

Link giggled and Rhett felt his breath on the tip of his cock. Link started at the base and his tongue drew a long lick from the base to the tip. It was new for Link. He felt unequipped to do this. It was a new taste as he felt the velvety skin with his tongue. Slowly, he took the tip in his mouth, which elicited a delicious noise from Rhett. It was exciting, and it was strange. It was new and dirty as heck. Link couldn’t believe he was doing this. It wasn’t like he had been dreaming of this for years, or preparing himself for how much he’d like it. His mouth was making obscene noises as he began sucking Rhett’s dick. He’d had this done to himself many times to know what Rhett would like. So he tried to get in as much of his length as he could, but gagged halfway, and spit out his cock.

He replaced his mouth with his hand, swallowed and said, “Gosh, this is harder than it looks. You’re big!”

Rhett looked down at him, holding his cock, mouth dripping with saliva, and eyes watering. He had to admit he’d never seen something so beautiful. Something that turned him on this much.

“You look… mmm… oh!.” said Rhett, as Link took him back in his mouth, and started pumping hard.

Within seconds, Rhett said, “Link… I’m about to come… uh… you think you can… you can take it?”

“Unh unh.” said Link with his mouth full. He popped out Rhett’s cock, held it in his hand and said, “Not the first time, man.” _implying there would be more times._

“Come here.” said Rhett, and pulled Link up. He grabbed him, and kissed him deep and hard, as Link worked Rhett frantically. “Oh Link. I’m there…” he finally said, and he came all over Link’s hand. He breathed hard against Link’s lips, who kissed him lightly but didn’t say anything.

Rhett felt blissed out, but as he was catching his breath, he felt that deep guilt again. _What the heck were they doing!_ He felt Link’s lips on him, planting light pecks all over his mouth and beard. He pulled Link’s head into his neck, and felt him press his hardness onto his thigh. It was a miracle that the towel was still tied around his little waist. He knew Link deserved a release too. And he knew he was expected to give it to him. And he would! He loved Link. He would do anything! There was nothing that he wanted more than to make Link feel what he’d just felt. To give Link everything he wanted.

But before he could think further, and stop himself, in a moment of weakness he blurted out, “Link, I love her.”

Link froze. He felt something in the pit of his stomach that was not about wanting Rhett on him. It was that miserable gut wrench that he felt when someone died. He felt like he got slapped by Rhett. He felt betrayed, he felt awful. And then, he felt angry.

He looked up into Rhett’s eyes, and he could see immediate regret. He knew Rhett wanted to take the words back, but he didn’t care.

“Congratulations.” he said, and pushed Rhett off of himself. He went into the bathroom, and emerged within a minute, fully clothed. He stormed to the kitchen, picked up his car keys and left, banging the front door behind him. 

 _Shit._ Rhett felt like he wanted to punch himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this! You can find me on Tumblr at summer-mclaughlin. And please leave a comment! :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link stared into Rhett’s eyes, and leaned over and pressed his lips to Rhett’s. Rhett hovered over Link’s body on the bed, on all fours, bracketing his legs with his own knees. He was now pressing himself onto Link’s body, elbows on the bed on either sides of Link’s head, and fingers in his hair. He kissed him with love, with passion and with urgency. He wanted to please Link. He wanted to show Link how much he meant to him, and how in love he was.

Rhett’s phone:

**LINK**

 

Today 12:24 pm

 

Link, I’m sorry. Please come back.

  
  


Today 12:31 pm

 

I’m really sorry. I don’t know why I said that. It was inappropriate.

  
  


Today 12:44 pm

 

Come on man. Please answer my call. 

  
  


Today 12:59 pm

 

I know I screwed up. I just wanna talk to you. Please please answer my call. 

  
  


Today 1:08 pm

 

I’ll be over in 10 minutes to pick up my stuff.

  
  


Rhett knew he needed to fix things. He knew Link was angry, and understandably so. He needed to tell Link how complicated this was for him. That his brain was not able to process the massive love he had for Jessie along with the deep physical need he felt for Link. Well, it wasn’t  _ just  _ physical with Link. He loved Link! But then, wasn’t it the same for Jessie too?

Ten minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Rhett leaped up and ran to open the door. Link barged in, without looking at him, and stormed into his room. Rhett followed him and saw him quickly dump his clothes into a duffle bag. 

“Where’s my laptop?” said Link, looking around.

“Link, please, let’s talk.”

“Where’s my freakin’ laptop!” he said, frantically looking around. 

Rhett walked over to Link, and held him by the shoulders. 

“Rhett let go. I have to find my stupid laptop.” said Link. Rhett swooped down to kiss him, but Link pushed him away again. 

“You can’t just kiss me like this and think it’ll all be okay. It’s better for me to just move back to my place, so you can celebrate your love in this love castle.” he said. 

“Hey, that’s not fair. You realise how confusing this is for me? I love Jessie. I’ve loved her for three years! I’ve thought about growing old with her. It’s strong. But I’ve loved you all my life. You’ve been my anchor, my rock, my… everything. And now this too - the only thing that was missing. So it’s just… hard for me to process. It’s hard for me to make sense of what I want. Heck, I don’t even know what I want! I feel miserable!” said Rhett.

“You didn’t feel so miserable with me on my knees, did you?” Link spat at him.

“I’m sorry.”

“And you think it’s hard and confusing for you?  _ Just  _ you!? You think I’ve been holding some secret feelings or lust for you inside and now I’m at peace that it’s finally out? Rhett this is  _ just _ as new and strange and confusing for me as it is for you. A week ago, I didn’t think I wanted anything more than be with Christy. And here I am, pulling your pants down. Don’t you  _ dare  _ insinuate that this is only hard for you.” 

“I know. I know, Link. I’m sorry. I really am.” said Rhett, softly.

“Sorry for what!? Sorry you can’t do this anymore? Or sorry that you love her? Or sorry that you… love me? What does sorry mean!?”

“Sorry for how I made you feel. It’s not fair to you. Or Jessie. Or me. I just… you gotta understand, I can’t break up with her over something I don’t even understand. I need time to process this. And I need you to help me process this. We need to help each other, man. I need to know if this is not a rebound physical thing that’s happening for you. I’m being honest here, I can’t just let go of her over that. And I need to figure out how I feel. Come on, we’re known to deal with everything from our friendship to our business by talking it out. Let’s talk this out and see if there’s anything to this.”  Rhett replied.

“Okay. Let’s unpack this then, shall we?” said Link, sinking onto his bed, with his legs crossed. Rhett pulled a chair and sat next to him. 

“So?” said Rhett, tentatively.

“So, how long have you had a crush on me?” said Link. Rhett spat out air noisily and laughed. Link laughed too. “Seriously though, have you ever thought about… me?”

“I’ve dreamt about you like that a few times, I think. The first time was when we were 14. I dreamt that we were the only two people chosen to be sent to the moon, to figure out a way to live there because the earth was getting too crowded. And my first instinct was, why’re they sending us!? We’re just teenagers! But then we had no choice, so we went, and we kissed on the moon. We tried to hide it, but getting famous for being the first people ever to kiss on the moon… man it’s hard to keep that from your parents.” said Rhett.

“So you felt guilty.” 

“I didn’t feel guilty. I think I just felt like that’s something that needs to be hidden even if I liked it.”

“That’s called feeling guilty.”

“It was just a dream man.” said Rhett. “Also, I had a dream about kissing my cousin, Mrs. Locklear from first grade, and Captain Spock. I guess I just wanted to kiss anyone at 14.” 

“Well, that’s flattering.” Link rolled his eyes. Rhett laughed.

“How about you? Did you ever think about me?” asked Rhett.

“I dunno. Well. For me, it’s all about comfort. You know me better than anyone else. And I guess you’re the only one I can be myself with. I guess I always knew this about you, but I never thought about it like this.”

Rhett nodded. He could see Link trying to search for answers, for words. He gave him time. 

“I always loved that you knew what I was gonna say. I loved that you knew if I was gonna like something or not. Or how I would react in situations. I revel in comfort, and… okay this might sound cheesy, but coming to you was like…” he looked at Rhett. “Was like coming home.”

Rhett held Link’s hands in his, but didn’t say anything. He wanted Link to go on. 

“I’d always seek you out of a crowd. Not that you’re hard to miss.” he added with a smirk. Rhett smiled. 

“I feel the same way about you.” he said, softly.

“Yeah. But that’s just called being best friends right?”

“I guess so.” said Rhett, still holding on to Link’s hands. “So let me ask you something. Did you ever feel like kissing me? How did that happen?” 

Link blushed. “Okay, I’ve never felt attracted to guys before. You know that. But I could always kinda…” he looked up at the ceiling, trying to avoid Rhett’s eyes. “I could see what girls liked in you.”

Rhett smiled, and his cheeks balled up. “Wow. If only had I known this sooner.”

“I mean, at that time, we were so brainwashed into thinking this was all wrong, that I guess I couldn’t ever express it. And it was so easy to like girls. I mean, it still is. Girls are phew… Hot!” said Link.

“Oh,  _ so _ hot.” said Rhett, shaking his head.

“And girls are soft and gentle, and caring, and sexy! And oh gosh, boobs? I know women are more than just boobs, but damn they feel so good!”

Rhett laughed pretty hard, and nodded, “I’m with you brother! All of it.”

“But… I am, uh… I am attracted to you, and now that I think about it, I always have been.” said Link, without a smile this time.

Rhett kept looking into his blue eyes.

“Say something.” prodded Link.

“It’s doesn’t help that you’re so dang sexy, okay? I’ve always known that. And acknowledged that. But in my mind, you were never mine to take. Like, that wasn’t even an option. It was always like - Hey, my best friend is hot!. Not - My best friend is hot and I should get to kiss him.” 

“And now?” asked Link.

“Now I know it’s okay. It’s okay to want to do this. And damn, do I wanna do this or what. I want to… so bad.” said Rhett, gripping his hands tighter.

Link stared into Rhett’s eyes, and leaned over and pressed his lips to Rhett’s. Rhett hovered over Link’s body on the bed, on all fours, bracketing his legs with his own knees. He was now pressing himself onto Link’s body, elbows on the bed on either sides of Link’s head, and fingers in his hair. He kissed him with love, with passion and with urgency. He wanted to please Link. He wanted to show Link how much he meant to him, and how in love he was. He rubbed his face on Link’s neck. His hands were already inside Link’s shirt, flicking his nipples.

“Oh gosh Rhett.” muttered Link.

“Take off that shirt for me.” Rhett spoke into his collar bone. Link obeyed, and swiftly pulled off his tshirt. Rhett wrapped his arms around that beautiful chest, and began kissing every inch he saw. The noises Link was making was only telling Rhett that he was doing something right. 

He moved down to his belly, and hooked his fingers into the elastic waist of Link’s joggers.

“Let me show you how good you made me feel earlier.” said Rhett, winking at him. 

Planting kisses all across his godly hips, Rhett pushed Link’s pants and boxers down, and he was almost slapped with Link’s huge cock in his face.

“Whoa! Easy there, Neal.” 

“Well, you did that! Not my fault.” giggled Link.

Rhett didn’t waste any time in sweet talking Link. He was scared of doing this already, and Link’s sheer size didn’t make it seem easier. Rhett held his cock, and slowly felt it through all his length. A couple of strokes later, he swooped down and kissed the tip. The taste was new and bizarre. He didn’t  _ hate  _ it. He readjusted himself, wrapping his arms around Link’s thighs the way he did Jessie’s, but Link was way too long for that to be comfortable. He moved again, this time sitting on his toes, and bending down, taking Link into his mouth again. He pressed Link’s balls with his hand, while running his tongue, still only at the tip.

“Mmmm…” said Link, with his hand on Rhett’s head. He tried to gently push it down a little, telling Rhett to take more of him inside. Rhett did, and Link sighed with pleasure. He pushed his head more, and Rhett took more of him in. One more push, and Rhett gagged, spitting out Link’s cock, coughing into his belly with his eyes watering.

“I’m sorry man. I’m so sorry. I didn’t even get a fourth of it in!” 

Link laughed. “It’s okay. I know you have a horrible gag reflex. Come here.” He pulled Rhett up, and kissed him. “Just use your hand.” he whispered into his lips, and guided Rhett’s hand to himself. “Do it the way you do it to yourself.”

Rhett stroked him. Long slow strokes from the base to the tip. And then a little rub at the top. He repeated his a couple of times, as Link lay on his back, and Rhett on his side, kissing his chest and pleasuring him. 

“Faster…” muttered Link.

And Rhett did. His hand moved faster, harder. But then it stopped. It went slow again, teasing Link to the point of begging. “Come on man!” said Link, frustrated.

He went fast again. This time with a motive to climax Link. He wanted Link to feel ecstasy. And knowing that he was causing Link’s body to writhe the way it was, made Rhett go even harder. 

“Oh Rhett, I’m coming.” said Link, his hips shaking as he felt a pool form on his belly. Rhett milked every last drop from Link, till he was spent and happy. Link giggled. Then he giggled some more and then he reached the point of laughing out loud. 

“Do you always laugh when you come!?” said Rhett, also laughing now. 

“Oh you’ll find out.” and he kissed Rhett.

Rhett pulled out some tissues from the side table and cleaned up the mess Link had created on himself. Link was still on his back, his eyes half closed.

“So… this thing is more than this, right?” asked Rhett. Link knew exactly what he was asking. 

He kissed Rhett once again and said, “Of course it is, bo.”

“So you wanna try this out? For reals?” asked Rhett.

“I do.” he nodded.

“Right. I think I need to talk to Jessie when she gets back. And what about GMM?” asked Rhett.

"We keep doing everything as is. Let's wait till we figure out how it goes. Maybe some day we'll announce it. I'm sure the mythical beasts would be supportive." said Link.

"You're right." said Rhett, holding on to Link tightly, hugging him as he kissed his forehead.

 

Jessie returned late Sunday night, and the guys welcomed her with dinner.

“Ooh! Look at my lovely boys cooking! Don’t you two look cute!” she said, reacting to them both standing in the kitchen wearing aprons. 

“We’re just re-heating lasagne that you made two days ago.” said Rhett, as he plated the food for her. 

“Link, you’re not eating?” she asked him when she saw him take off his apron, and start walking towards his room.

“Oh no. I already ate. Sorry, I was hungry and didn’t wait for you.” he said. He couldn’t stand being around her. He was awkward and uncomfortable. And he also wanted to give Rhett time alone with her. He and Rhett had previously rehearsed how he was gonna tell Jessie. He hoped Rhett would be able to execute the plan, and walked away.

“You want some wine with that, Jes?” asked Rhett.

“Oh no wine for me. Uhn uhn.” she shook her head happily and sat down to eat.

Rhett sat down next to her, going over his practiced words in his head. He looked at her. She was gorgeous and gleaming with happiness. And he was about to break her heart. In the most unexpected, harsh way. 

Back in his room, Link was pacing.  _ I should’ve left the house! This is so stupid. She’s gonna come in and kill me. I should’ve given them time alone to do this. I shouldn’t be in the next room.  _ These were only a few of the many hundreds of thoughts in his mind. 

WIthin a minute he heard Jessie’s scream. And high pitched noises. She was crying. Or screaming? 

“Link! Come out!” he heard Jessie’s voice. 

He nervously opened his door, and walked to the kitchen. He saw Jessie in tears, and Rhett sitting there holding her hand. She was sobbing. Or was she? Link moved closer and realised she was smiling. Smiling wider than he’d ever seen her smile.

“We have something to tell you, Link.” she said. He looked at Rhett, who looked shocked and dazed out.

Jessie looked from one man to the other and said, “Rhett and I are having a baby!!!” and jumped out of her chair to hug Link.

It felt like the earth had slipped off from below his feet. He didn’t remember much of what happened next. He just remembered hugging Jessie, and looking at his best friend’s face, seeing a single tear trickle down his cheek, and disappear into his beard. 


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was noon. Link found Rhett still it bed, in his untidy motel room. His hair floppy, and his eyes sleepless and tired. He looked gorgeous. He walked over to the bed, and without saying a word, removed his shoes, and got into the bed with him. He spooned Rhett, and kissed his neck.
> 
> “I’ve missed you so much.” he whispered. “It’s gonna be okay, Rhett. I promise.”
> 
> Rhett held Link’s hand and pressed it to his chest. And they lay there together, for what seemed like eternity.

Rhett watched as Link half smiled at Jessie. He could see that he didn’t want to.

“Oh! Wow… that’s... wonderful Jessie.” he saw Link say to her, as he kissed her temple. Immediately after, he saw Link disappear into his room.

“What happened to him!?” she said, startled. Rhett ignored the question.

“Let’s go to bed, you must be exhausted after all that travel.” said Rhett.

“I kinda am. I threw up on the plane, and literally, the smell of this lasagna is making me gag again.” she said, pushing away her plate.

“I’ll clean up, you go get into bed.” said Rhett.

“Thanks babe!” she said brightly, getting off her chair and standing on her tiptoes to kiss Rhett. “And thanks for getting me knocked up, baby daddy!” she whispered. Rhett smiled awkwardly and kissed her back. “I’ll be waiting for you.” she added, blowing a kiss towards him.

As soon as Jessie left, Rhett rushed to Link’s room. He noticed Link, quietly folding his clothes and placing them into his bag. He was folding them neater than necessary. He saw that his eyes were damp, and his nose sniffy.

“You’re leaving?” Rhett asked.

“Congratulations dude!” said Link. Rhett could tell he wasn’t being sarcastic. “Who knew you had it in you to be a dad!”

“Link…”

“I’m happy for you guys.”

“Link this doesn’t change anything. I still wanna be with you.” said Rhett, firmly.

Link pulled Rhett by the hand, and sat down with him on the bed. He smiled at his beautiful friend. “What’re you talking about Rhett? Let’s get real. What you have with Jessie is magic. It’s love. It’s a _family._ What you and I had was a drunk weekend.”

“So you just wanna give up on it!?” asked Rhett.

“Rhett, she needs you. She’s your life. Be a good man, and be there for her.” Link said, still holding his hand. Rhett was too drowned in emotions to say anything to him.

Link stood up and picked his bag, about to leave. He looked back from the door. “I think we should take some time off of shooting. We have more than two weeks worth of episodes stocked up. We can take this time to work on some music by ourselves like we talked.” he raised his eyebrows in question.

Rhett looked at him, and nodded. After more than a week of living here, Link finally left.

 

_Link was ordering lunch. “I’m getting you a tuna sandwich.” he said. But Rhett didn’t want tuna. “But I don’t want tuna!”. “Oh you do, big guy.” NO. “I don’t even like Tuna.” Link looked at him. “You DO like Tuna Rhett!” He didn’t anymore. “I don’t anymore.” Link shook his head. “Come on Rhett. Tuna is your family. You should be there for Tuna. Be a good guy. Eat your Tuna.”_

 

Rhett’s eyes opened, and he felt a sleeping Jessie on top of him. He gently put her on her side of the bed, and tried to fall back to sleep.

The next week was full of doctor’s appointments for Rhett and Jessie, and solitary songwriting for Link. Neither one of them showed up at the office the entire week. At least not at the same time. They would drop in to do the essentials, and then leave and continue on at home. Rhett and Jessie found out that she was already 5 weeks into her pregnancy, and it was progressing perfectly.

“You’re healthy, and you don’t smoke. Your baby is absolutely fine. Just cool down on the exercises for a bit. Taking a non stressful walk everyday is fine, nothing more rigorous than that.” the doctor informed them.

“Do we know if it’s a boy or a girl?” asked Jessie excitedly.

“Aw, no. It’s too soon to tell. In a couple of months, we should know though. What’re you guys hoping for?” the doctor asked kindly.

“A boy. Just like this guy.” Jessie said, looking at Rhett, who smiled back at her.

 

Rhett noticed that Jessie was beaming these days. She was happier than he’d ever seen her. She had never expressed the desire to be a mum, but she had discovered how much she wanted this after she got pregnant. She would kiss Rhett randomly during the day, and their hugs had gotten longer and more frequent. The doctor had advised them to avoid sex in the beginning. But with them already being used to sleeping naked, she had gotten into the habit of cuddling up to Rhett, the touch of his skin on her comforting her and putting her to sleep every night.

Rhett, on the other hand found himself distracted and looking for a few moments here and there to text Link. He didn’t text him anything in particular. Small things like… how’s the songwriting going? Or updates on what he was up to. (He wasn’t really doing any work though) His days were filled with physically being with Jessie, but mentally distracted by the thought of Link, and his nights were sleepless, daydreaming about what life was about to become, instead of what it had become.

A week into their hiatus from working together, it was nighttime when Jessie came and sat next to Rhett.

“Hey babe.” said Rhett to her, snapping out of his usual daze.

“Rhett, what’s going on?”

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Please be honest with me. What’s going on? You always seem distracted or unhappy or stressed. Link hasn’t called me in days. You’ve stopped going to the office. Why have things changed so much?”

“Jess… I just thought I should stay home with you for a couple of weeks, that’s it.” he said.

“Rhett, I’d believe that if you really did spend time with me. I’m still going to work. And even when I’m back, you’re not with me. I can tell.” she said quietly, and she started crying. “I need to know what’s going on. Are you not happy?”

“Jessie!” he held her in his arms.

“I’m sorry I never even asked you how you felt about having a baby. I just sprang this new on to you, and expected you to be on board. Specially when we didn’t plan this. Please tell me if you’re unhappy about it. Please be honest with me, Rhett.” she was pleading.

“Jess, I’m absolutely thrilled and excited. Please don’t think I’m unhappy about the baby.”

“So then what’re you unhappy about?”

“What?”

“Come on Rhett, tell me. Please.”

He hadn’t planned on doing this tonight, and months later, he would wonder what kind of super strength had appeared in his brain to do this.

“Jessie, something happened. While you were away last weekend. Something I’m not proud of, but something I can’t let go of.” he said and looked up at her. Her eyes were wide and concerned. “I kissed someone else.”

Jessie released his hands, and flinched. In a sudden moment, she smacked a hard slap across Rhett’s face. It caught Rhett off guard but he knew he deserved it. She was little but she was so fierce, and so powerful. Neither of them said anything for another minute.

“It was Link, wasn’t it?” she said quietly.

Rhett’s heart dropped. He looked at her eyes. She was so beautiful. _So_ beautiful. And he loved her so much. Why was he doing this to her? “Jessie…” he started, but couldn’t find the words.

“I knew it.” she said, sobbing. “I knew this would happen. I knew we had an expiration date. And I knew it would be Link.”

“Jess… I love you so much. I love our baby. I need you in my life.” he said.

“Yeah. Just not as your wife.” she looked up at the ceiling, tears dripping down her cheeks. “Why now Rhett? This should’ve happened three years ago. It would’ve saved me the pain.”

“I’m sorry Jess. I’m so sorry.” he said, holding onto her tight, like he was afraid to let her go. He didn’t want to let her go. She had made him what he was - a much better man. He spared her the details of everything else that had occurred over that weekend, but Jessie finally pushed him away.

“I need you to leave, Rhett.” she said, eyes red. “Please go away. I need to be alone.” Rhett was still looking at her, balled up with her knees touching her chin, and arms around her legs. He respected her enough to listen to her. And he stood up to leave.

 

Twenty minutes later, he was checking into a motel. The thought of calling Link crossed his mind. But he felt like he needed to punish himself. It wasn't really rational, but he decided he didn't deserve the warmth of Link’s company when Jessie was suffering alone. 

It was only the next day that he called Link, after a sleepless night.

“Link? Where are you?”

“I’m at home. What happened, Rhett? Are you okay?”

“I told her.”  
  


It was noon. Link found Rhett still it bed, in his untidy motel room. His hair floppy, and his eyes sleepless and tired. He looked gorgeous. He walked over to the bed, and without saying a word, removed his shoes, and got into the bed with him. He spooned Rhett, and kissed his neck.

“I’ve missed you so much.” he whispered. “It’s gonna be okay, Rhett. I promise.”

Rhett held Link’s hand and pressed it to his chest. And they lay there together, for what seemed like eternity.   


 

Link was driving down the road. He hadn’t told Rhett where he was going, but he needed to do this. He was nervous as he knocked on the door of Rhett and Jessie’s apartment. He waited outside for a long time before Jessie opened the door. She was dressed in a loose white tshirt (which Link recognized as Rhett’s), falling off her shoulder and tiny black shorts, with her hair messy and untied and her makeup washed off.

“Can I come in?” said Link.

She didn’t answer, but opened to door wide to let him in. She collapsed to the floor against the couch, and Link sat next to her.

“I’m sorry Jessie. I’m sorry I did this to you.” Link said, looking straight ahead, not at her.

She turned to him, with her eyes wet, and punched his shoulder. Then she punched him again. “I HATE you Link. I hate you.” And she punched him again. Link held her, and pulled her into a hug. She broke down, and punched him one last time before she became still and cried on his shoulder. He put his hand on her head, and kept saying sorry.

“Jess, I never thought I’d do this to you. Ever.” he said, quietly.

“Why did you leave him at home?” she said, still crying on his shoulder.

“He didn’t come to my place. He couldn’t do that Jessie. He’s in some dingy motel.”

She didn’t say anything, just looked at the floor.

“I thought he loved me.” she said.

“He does. More than anything. I know that.” said Link.

“Not more than he loves you.” she said. “And the funny thing is that I’ve always known that.” She wiped her eyes on his tshirt.

How could Link do this! How could he think of taking her place? It felt wrong, and it felt rotten. And he just wanted to say sorry to her a hundred times over.

“I just… always thought that even if he loves you more, I can give him something you can’t.” she looked at him. He felt dirty and shameful. “I knew he’d never leave me for another woman. So I thought he’d never leave me at all.” she said sadly. “And when I found out I was pregnant, I knew he’s propose to me and we’d marry.”

“Jess, if you’d have asked me a week ago, I would’ve said the same thing about you two. And that’s just because… I didn’t know any better then. I don’t know what happened to us just now. We’d never thought about this, ever. And yet it seems like we always knew.”

She just listened. And then said, “I woke up this morning wanting to end this pregnancy.”

“Jessie!” gasped Link.

“I don’t want to raise a baby alone, Link.”

“You’re not gonna be alone, and you know that. You think Rhett is gonna bail on you!? He’s gonna be such a good dad. He loves you and he’s gonna love this baby. And I love you, and I’m gonna be there for you too.” he said.

“I didn’t even think I wanted one till this happened.” she said, with her hands on her tummy.

“How do you feel?” He asked.

“I love this baby. But now, everything is… different. He’s not mine anymore. I have no right to tell him to be there. I can’t hold him at night when I feel overwhelmed. I can’t tell him it’s his turn to change the diaper. I won’t see him rocking the baby to sleep at 1 am. He won’t take this baby to swimming lessons or teach him how to ride a bike.” Tears were still streaming down her face.

“Jessie, how can you say that? You know Rhett! You know he’s gonna be there. And if he isn’t, I’m gonna make sure he is! He’s gonna do the whole thing! He’s gonna be there at the doctor’s. He’s gonna go to Lamaze with you. He’s gonna be there when the baby comes. And after that too! Don’t you worry about that. He loves you Jessie, I can’t say it enough.” he said.

“So are you guys gonna date now?” she asked.

He didn’t know what to say. “Ummm… I don’t know.”

“Do you love him?”

“I do, Jess. I think I really do.”

“That’s good. Cuz he loves you too.” she said quietly. “I don’t know if he’s said it to you yet. But even if he doesn’t, just know that he does. And I guess as long as he ends up with either one of us, I’m happy for him.”

“You will always have his heart, you know that right?” said Link, looking at her.

“Right back at you, boy.” she said with a weak smile.

“Just a heads up. While it may sometimes seem like he does, Rhett doesn’t have boobs. That’s gonna be a disappointment after Christy for sure.” she said.

Link laughed. He couldn’t believe how funny and amazing Jessie was even distressed.

“Also, he got a bad back. Be careful with him. You’ll need to do most of the heavy lifting.” she said, laughing. And then they were both laughing, but the laughing soon turned into crying, and they were hugging again. “I knew he’d be pulled to you some day. I should stop acting surprised. Just that I always wished I would be wrong…”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading this, I hope you leave a comment!  
> You can find me on Tumblr at summer-mclaughlin and summer-mclaughlin-art. See ya! :)


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